Why is glycol used in chillers?
Glycol chillers are widely used in industries like brewing, food processing, pharmaceuticals and HVAC. They use a mixture of glycol and water (rather than just water) to cool equipment, prevent freezing and maintain steady temperatures. They’re ideal for applications where precise and consistent cooling is essential. A glycol chiller is a refrigeration system that cools a glycol-water solution, which circulates through pipes to remove heat from a process or space. Glycol helps prevent freezing, improves heat transfer and protects system components from corrosion and scaling. The presence of the glycol makes it more effective than water alone in low-temperature applications.
In this blog post, we will explore why glycol is used in chillers, including what type of glycol is used. We will also look at how a glycol chiller works, covering its key parts and benefits, as well as how these systems support industries that rely on precise temperature control.
Key takeaways
- Glycol is mixed with water in chiller systems to prevent freezing, improve heat transfer, and protect pipes and components from corrosion, making it more effective than water alone in low-temperature applications.
- The two most common types are ethylene glycol, which offers better heat transfer but is toxic, and propylene glycol, which is non-toxic and suited to food, beverage, and pharmaceutical applications.
- Glycol chillers are used across brewing, food processing, pharmaceuticals, HVAC, and data centres, where precise and consistent cooling is critical to operations and regulatory compliance.
- A glycol chiller works by cooling a glycol-water mixture through a vapour compression refrigeration cycle, continuously circulating the chilled solution through pipes to remove heat from equipment or a process.
Loading component...
Brewery and beverage cooling
Using glycol in chillers is critical in the food and beverage industry, where maintaining precise fermentation and storage temperatures is crucial.
- Fermentation control: beer and wine must be kept at specific temperatures during fermentation to ensure proper yeast activity and flavour development.
- Preventing freezing: unlike water, glycol prevents freezing while maintaining the cold temperatures needed for beverage storage.
- Rapid cooling in wort chillers: glycol is used in breweries to quickly cool down wort (the liquid extracted from malted grains during mashing) after the boiling stage, helping to preserve flavours.
Many breweries use multi-stage glycol cooling loops, where different tanks can be kept at various temperatures using the same chiller system.